Mega Man, the Show: An Outline
by Pennzance
Summary: A rough draft outline for a 10-season cartoon show meant for ages 10-16 that will never happen, but the author wishes fervently that it would.


A pretext from the author: This is not really a story. It is an outline, a rough draft. Roughly 15 pages to sketch out 10 seasons of a show I will never get to see, especially with Man of Action's Mega Man cartoon on the horizon. I could be wrong, maybe it'll work, but not like this at 11 minutes an episode.

So this is what I want. This is what I would do with Mega Man if it were me in charge of writing the show. Sure, there'd be filler (although less and less as the show went on), and annoying side characters and a whole bunch of details I'm not filling in here, but that's all set dressing. The story, the actual story, is the important thing because if you don't have that you don't have anything of substance.

So, submitted here for your perusal and comment, as food for thought, is a thought exercise from a life long Mega Man fan about how I would go about telling the story in a Mega Man cartoon. Assuming, of course, I could get to ten seasons.

So let's do this thing, shall we?

Mega Man

To the world, Rock Light is a kid like any other. He does chores, argues with his sister Roll, helps his father Thomas Light in the lab building and fixing robots, gets into all sorts of mischief with his Uncle Albert, and enjoys the company of his dog Rush. He has friends, like Greg the upbeat sci-fi nerd, Layla the car-loving tomboy, Remy the crafty scamp, and Kalinka the shy foreign girl.

But in a mega-city that relies on robots to handle the day-to-day chores and dangerous jobs, sometimes things can go wrong. Megaopolis has six Robot Masters who co-ordinate the various robots to handle their jobs and respond to emergencies, but when even they get overwhelmed Rock steps up to become Mega Man, a hero unlike any other.

Together with Cut Man, Guts Man, Elec Man, Bomb Man, Ice Man, and Fire Man, Mega Man helps avert disasters, save lives, and stop robots who run amok as a result of hacking or viruses. Able to copy functions of the other Robot Masters and guided by Dr. Light, Mega Man is an undeniably powerful force for good in Megaopolis.

Until one day, when the sky darkens, and a ship descends from above bearing Enker, a Star Droid. He declares war upon humanity for enslaving the robots, and begins the Robot Rebellion. Affected by a new super virus, even the Robot Masters fall under his control, causing havoc and destruction throughout the city. Rock and Roll are the only two robots spared from the infection by the quick thinking of Dr. Light and the help of Uncle Albert, and with the help of his upgraded robo-dog Rush, Mega Man steps up again to save the Robot Masters and take the fight back to Enker.

As his grip on the city's robots begins to weaken, Enker releases the Yellow Devil, a truly alien war-machine to challenge Mega Man and bring him down. With the help of the restored Robot Masters, Mega Man disables the Yellow Devil and saves Megaopolis, finally confronting Enker himself aboard his ship.

Enker is contemptuous of Mega Man's drive to save humanity, and tries to prove he is not special by creating a copy of Mega Man for him to battle. Rock wins in the end, and Enker challenges Mega Man to a duel, and puts his ship on auto-pilot, attempting to take Mega Man out into space with him. They fight, and Mega Man wins, but has to leap out of the ship before it flies back into space. The Robot Masters and Rush co-ordinate their efforts to save the falling Mega Man, and the city celebrates its hero.

But certainly there are more Star Droids, and Dr. Light begins to prepare for the day when Mega Man may again be called upon to save the world. And unbeknownst to them all, a sinister presence looms close by, plotting its next move…

Mega Man 2

Rock tries to settle back into his daily routine. Helping Dr. Light, Roll, and his new friend Auto (a robot shopkeeper) deal with the changes to life in Megaopolis. The true danger of Enker has passed, but the humans remain wary of the robots. Tensions are high, but begin to mellow out again as the Robot Masters return to their duties. Greg, Layla, Remy and Kalinka discover that Rock and Mega Man are one and the same when they get rescued from a large, out of control Guts Dozer.

Not long, however, Rock is attacked by a red robot named Quick Man. Declaring himself to be another Star Droid in service of his Lord and Master, he challenges Mega Man to defeat him and his seven brothers alone. Confused and scared, Rock retreats to Dr. Light, who rallies the Robot Masters to help Mega Man deal with this new threat.

Furious to have his challenge ignored when Mega Man went for help, Quick Man declares war on Megaopolis, vowing on pirated television signals that his Master will arrive soon to wipe the city off the face of planet Earth for its crimes against the Star Droids. Air Man, Bubble Man, Crash Man, Flash Man, Wood Man, Heat Man, Metal Man and Quick Man hit the city like a hurricane, undoing most of the repairs since Enker's attack and inflicting even further damage.

The Robot Masters are overwhelmed trying to keep the city together and beat back the tide of Star Droid forces, and Mega Man is forced to try and defeat the Star Droids alone. He deals with each one in turn, eventually coming up against Quick Man again, who is relishing in the carnage he unleashed. They fight, and Mega Man wins, but the Star Droid army doesn't stop. Instead, a massive floating carrier appears in the sky, announcing the arrival of the Star Droid's Master.

The Mecha Dragon descends upon the city, and a running battle takes place with Rock's friends helping him take down the massive beast. When it finally falls, the Robot Masters take over clean-up duties while Mega Man finally takes the fight to the Master. Blasting his way through the floating fortress, Mega Man faces down the alien Master and defeats him, but has to try a desperate move to stop the fortress from falling onto the city.

The ship crashes into the bay, and Megaopolis watches, shocked, thinking Mega Man has perished with it. But a hand comes up out of the water, and Mega Man pulls himself onto the wharf to thunderous cheers and applause. Dr. Light and the Robot Masters run to his side, all while a red robot with a scarf looks on from a skyscraper. The mysterious robot turns away and vanishes as the city celebrates its two-time hero.

The rebuilding begins, but Dr. Light seems distracted. He explains to Albert that the Star Droids and their attacks seem too small, too focused, and their methods seem too familiar. He has pieced together a picture, painted by evidence that someone was behind the last Star Droid attack, although who or to what end, he can only guess at…

Mega Man 3

Rock's life returns to a semblance of normal, albeit a little different now that his friends know who he really is. Before long, the whole city seems to know, and Rock is badgered by the media and public officials for information, publicity stunts, and gossip. Roll helps defend him from the worst of the attention, but Rock becomes a recluse as a result, rarely leaving the lab.

When a version of the Star Droid virus breaks out again, the city clamors for Mega Man to save them, but instead a mysterious new robot new a yellow scarf, calling himself Break Man, steps in and brutally ends the problem. Dr. Light is stunned by the development, but Rock is excited. After all, help is always appreciated. But Break Man's methods prove too rough, resulting in collateral damage that Rock and the Robot Masters have to clean up, and before long Mega Man has to confront Break Man.

Mega Man wants to talk, but Break Man won't listen, attacking instantly and forcing a fight. Mega Man loses, mostly because he's unwilling to go as far as Break Man is to win, and the mysterious robot leaves him barely functional on the street. The paparazzi get to him first, and soon Mega Man's battered body is on display, with headlines claiming that he is now a failure.

With this, the city pushes Dr. Light to create a new defender, one that cannot be overtaken by a virus. A super robot with a pilot. Reluctantly, aided by Uncle Albert, Dr. Light begins to construct Gamma, a towering machine that could, in theory, punch another Star Droid vessel out of the sky. Rock becomes more withdrawn, shaken by his defeat at the hands of Break Man. The Robot Masters are dispatched to secure vital elements needed to construct a robot like Gamma, but they meet resistance from a new set of Star Droids.

Led by Shadow Man, the Star Droids defend their territory from the Robot Masters, but only ever seem to defend without attacking back. Curious at this development, Mega Man is sent to investigate. His confidence is still shattered, but it slowly reforms as he meets and bests Needle Man, Top Man, Hard Man, Magnet Man, Spark Man, Snake Man, Gemini Man and Shadow Man, securing the resources needed to bring Gamma online and discovering another piece of the Star Droid mystery.

But the Star Droids rally, and attack Megaopolis with a vengeance to retrieve the stolen elements, prompting Dr. Light to bring Gamma online. To everyone's astonishment, however, doing so only leads to greater disaster as Uncle Albert steals the machine and reveals himself to be the mastermind behind the Star Droid attacks.

Now going by Dr. Wily, he orders Gamma and the Star Droids to rampage through the city, demanding complete control of the city and the world to be surrendered to him. The city considers it, but Mega Man steps up again, willing to be the hero. Break Man appears as well, and despite his standoffish nature agrees to help Mega Man save Megaopolis. Working together, the two of them defeat the Star Droids and confront a new threat in Doc Robot, a hulking amalgam of the Star Droids from Mega Man 2. Break Man takes on Doc Robot while Mega Man goes after Dr. Wily, but the mad scientist sets a new Yellow Devil upon the city as well.

The Robot Masters fight back against the Yellow Devil, but Wily sends in another clone of Mega Man. The fight is just as hard as the first time, but Rock's friends show up to help him, taking the clone by surprise, and clearing the way to Gamma. Break Man rejoins Mega Man and the two of them fight a desperate battle against Dr. Wily's war machine, eventually winning out by collapsing the Central Tower of Megaopolis on top of Gamma.

In the confusion following the battle, Break Man slips away, but not before pulling Mega Man out of the rubble. Dr. Wily is nowhere to be found, but is presumed dead. The city celebrates again, but Dr. Light is cautious. While Dr. Wily may have been behind the first two attacks, Shadow Man actually does seem to be alien in origin, and the threat of an attack from the stars still looms.

In the aftermath, Break Man casts aside his identity to become Proto Man, fighting for reasons of his own. Rock mourns the memory of Uncle Albert, as does Dr. Light. As winter begins to set in over Megaopolis, something in space begins to stir, and a long shadow is cast over a sleeping Kalinka…

Mega Man 4

A robot named Punk appears, tearing up streets and causing havoc. The Robot Masters intervene to stop him, and he is apprehended. Rock is still on the mend from the battle with Gamma, and the city must weather a winter without him. Remy, Greg, Kalinka, and Layla find themselves spending more and more time with a newcomer named Blues, who is a dour and anti-social orphan. Dr. Light is distracted with his research of Shadow Man and his attempts to predict when or if the real Star Droids will attack, and the city seems to regard his research to be a little crazy. Auto makes a new friend in Eddie, a small luggage robot who warms up to Rock quickly and from then on helps by bringing him supplies when he's fighting as Mega Man.

Punk busts out of confinement, and Proto Man arrives to stop him in Mega Man's absence. Proto Man wins, and retreats before he can receive any accolades, vanishing once more. Punk is returned to confinement, seemingly content to wait around for something specific to happen.

One day Remy, Kalinka, and Layla are attacked by a mysterious purple robot, and Kalinka is kidnapped. The next day, seven new Robot Masters descend upon Megaopolis, built by Kalinka's father, Dr. Cossack. Ring Man, Toad Man, Pharaoh Man, Dust Man, Dive Man, Bright Man, and Drill Man mean the city no harm, but their search for Kalinka is fast and furious, and Mega Man gets back in action to help them find her.

Blues, meanwhile, hears about the abduction and sets off on his own to try to find Kalinka. Over the course of a week, the city is scoured, and the kidnapper is found! A robot named Ballade admits to the kidnapping when he is caught by Mega Man, but a violent Robot Master named Skull Man steps in to save the kidnapper. He claims to also be one of Dr. Cossack's creations, and also to be the head of the Robot Liberation Movement, an extremist group fighting for Robot rights, and tells them all he ordered Kalinka's kidnapping to force Dr. Cossack to help his cause. He engages in hit-and-run combat with Mega Man and the other Robot Masters, his rhetoric (and a stealthy virus) gradually turning some robots to his side.

Dr. Cossack and Dr. Light both finally confront Skull Man at Mega Man's side, and the two scientists admit that Skull Man is right; Robots are in dire need of their own rights and protections. But their susceptibility to viruses and reprogramming make it a difficult case to make to the authorities. Skull Man in enraged by their reluctance to use their influence for his cause, and attacks again, this time rallying Cossack's other Robot Masters to his side. Mega Man and Dr. Light's Robot Masters respond, and a grand melee breaks out.

The fighting comes to a stop, however, when Proto Man arrives. He brings a rescued Kalinka with him, and recounts how he saved her before disappearing again. Skull Man realizes he has been manipulated by some unknown party, and surrenders to have the virus cleaned form his system. The Robot Masters stand down, and an uneasy peace overtakes Megaopolis.

Free of the virus, Skull Man still claims he will stand for Robot rights, and that the RLM will continue to grow and act. Dr. Cossack agrees to assist his creation with human representation, and he and Dr. Light part on friendly terms. Tensions in Megaopolis simmer just beneath the surface, and humanity in general gives Mega Man and the Robot Masters a wide berth as they return to their duties. Even Remy, Layla, and Greg are distant from Rock, spending more and more time with Blues and the rescued Kalinka, who keeps telling them the tales about her rescue by Proto Man.

The work of the RLM causes issues, but nothing overtly violent or threatening, and before long their marches and demonstrations are a part of Megaopolis life. As the snows begin to melt, Rock returns to the lab one day to find no sign of Dr. Light but a note and a scrap of yellow cloth. Proto Man has kidnapped Dr. Light?!

Mega Man 5

Rock begins the search for Dr. Light with the help of Roll, Auto, Rush, and the Robot Masters. Rock makes the decision not to tell anyone else for now to stop a potential panic and questions about the kidnapping, feeling that such scrutiny would hurt more than help. Roll does tell Kalinka, however, and through her Greg, Layla, Remy and Dr. Cossack find out. Rock's friends jump to his aid, and Dr. Cossack vows to assist as well, creating a new pet for Rock to aid in the search. The robot bird Beat is a champion at finding things (and forms a small rivalry with Rush over this fact), but even with all of this assistance, Dr. Light is still lost without a real lead.

To compound matters, a new set of Star Droids appear. Gravity Man, Wave Man, Stone Man, Charge Man, Gyro Man, Star Man, Napalm Man and Crystal Man attack the outer reaches of Megaopolis in guerilla style raids to 'free the robots.' The Robot Masters and Mega Man have to split their attention from the search for Dr. Light to dealing with the Star Droid attacks, and without Dr. Light's assistance they can only react instead of take the initiative. All of this comes to a head when the leader of this new set of Star Droids is revealed to be… Proto Man?

The Star Droids attack in full force with their leader, and Mega Man and the Robot Masters meet them head on. In the ensuing battle, Mega Man demands to know where Dr. Light is, and why Proto Man is doing this, but Proto Man is quiet and doesn't give answers. What's more, Mega Man notices a change in Proto Man's fighting style, relying much more on defensive tactics than his usual offensive ones. Mega Man takes advantage of this to press the attack and eventually overwhelm Proto Man, who beats a hasty retreat with the Star Droids in tow.

Bewildered by this turn of events and the speculation in Megaopolis about what is happening and why Dr. Light has been so silent, Mega Man strikes out alone to track down Proto Man and the Star Droids. He eventually comes upon a sprawling fortress, seemingly recent in its construction, and infiltrates it. Inside, he faces down and defeats the Star Droids and comes face to face with Proto Man, again demanding answers.

But in a twist, a familiar whistle is heard and _another_ Proto Man attacks, and in the ensuing confusion of combat, the leader of the Star Droids is revealed to be Dark Man, a master of illusions and mimicry. Proto Man and Mega Man defeat him handily, but before Mega Man can ask Proto Man any questions, the fortress collapses, and the two must escape.

On a hillside overlooking the rubble, Mega Man finds Dr. Light. Together with Proto Man, he explains what happened. Proto Man is actually Blues, Rock's long lost older brother. Proto Man had been tracking the Star Droids down on his own, and had learned that Dr. Light was one of their primary targets. So Proto Man had taken Dr. Light one day without warning, unsure if Mega Man wasn't part of some greater scheme by the Star Droids. Without anyone to trust, Proto Man hid Dr. Light in a cave, and the two of them gradually reconnected.

Proto Man won't come home, but he is not an enemy of Mega Man's. The Star Droids, however, are a very real threat, he warns, and something big is coming. As Dr. Light and Mega Man return home, a shadow passes over the moon. Ballade visits Punk in his confinement, and the latter begins to laugh…

Mega Man 6

Demonstrations, strikes, and marches for Robot rights begin in earnest in Megaopolis, led by Dr. Cossack, Skull Man, Ballade and a few other prominent figures. Mega Man and Dr. Light's Robot Masters, as well as Dr. Light himself, stay out of the debate, but everything is thrown into chaos when a new Star Droid ship appears in the skies.

Prepared for a fight, Mega Man leaps into action, but receives a message from the Star Droid leader, Terra, to meet him outside the city limits. Mega Man does so, and Terra challenges him to a duel, advising Mega Man not to hold back. Despite his best efforts, Mega Man is batted aside and beaten soundly. Terra questions how any Star Droid could fall to such a weak robot, and issues a grand challenge to Megaopolis itself: present your strongest Robot, determined by a contest of skill and power, to defend the city from Terra and his Star Droids. The city is given half a year to prepare.

In no time, a magnanimous philanthropist named Mr. X arranges the World's Strongest Robot Competition, a brawling tournament to determine the strongest robot to face down the Star Droids. There are hundreds of entries, but Mega Man does not participate, having already lost to Terra. Rock asks Blues if he will take part, but his brother refuses, saying that the Star Droids are the real threat and no amount of flashy show should distract from them. Dr. Cossack rallies against the tournament on principal, claiming it is a blow to Robot rights to make them fight in this manner, and Dr. Light publicly washes his hands of the affair. Instead, he takes Proto Man's advice and focuses on building up Mega Man's power to defend Megaopolis against the Star Droids.

The tournament begins, and eight standouts quickly climb the rankings. Flame Man, Knight Man, Wind Man, Centaur Man, Blizzard Man, Plant Man, Yamato Man, and Tomahawk Man seem to represent the best of the best. A black robot named Bass is the clear front-runner, but is forced to drop out following some sort of malfunction. Despite the stakes there is serious hype around the tournament as it builds up. Dr. Light's Robot Master participate, but are eliminated from the competition in the later stages by these powerful competitors.

With three months remaining and the tournament down to its final eight contestants, Mr. X springs his trap. He takes control of the World's Strongest and seizes control of the city, claiming that no single robot could stand against the Star Droids and that Megaopolis must prepare for war. There are protests and conflict, but ultimately the city seems to agree with Mr. X, and begins to slowly turn itself into a police state and a fortress.

Despairing at the state of events, Dr. Light hurries construction of the Super Adaptor, a powerful upgrade for Mega Man that allows him to combine with Rush to exponentially increase his power. It proves unstable, however, so a lesser version must be used until Dr. Light can solve the problem, resulting in Power Mega Man and Jet Mega Man modes. With less than a month remaining before terra's deadline, a riot breaks out against Mr. X's control, and the Robot Masters find themselves defending the people against Mr. X's forces and the World's Strongest who have already bested them once.

Mega Man arrives to the rescue, however, using Power and Jet mode to take down the World's Strongest one by one. Mr. X escapes, but his control of the city is broken. There is no time to celebrate, however, because Terra and his Star Droids begin their assault. Ballade is revealed to be a Star Droid spy, and breaks Punk out of his confinement, revealing him to be an advanced scout of the Star Droid attack.

Along with Pluto, Saturn, Jupiter, Neptune, Mars, Venus, Mercury, and Uranus, Terra's attack rocks the already shaken city. A valiant defense is put up, with Mega Man, Dr. Light's Robot Masters, Dr. Cossack's Robot Masters and the newly freed World's Strongest defeating the Star Droids. Mega Man again faces Terra, this time on even footing, and after a tough battle Terra is defeated. He reveals that the Star Droids recruit powerful robots into their ranks from the civilizations they encounter, and he offers Mega Man an invitation. Mega Man refuses, and Terra concedes. He tells Mega Man that the real reason he came to Earth was to find an ancient Star Droid, trapped in hibernation beneath Megaopolis's streets.

Mega Man, Remy, Greg, Layla and Kalinka follow the clues to find the robot called Sun Star, only to find his capsule is empty. Mr. X attacks again, revealing that he found Sun Star and reactivated him, infecting him with the same control virus he used on the World's Strongest. But the virus doesn't give Mr. X control, it just drives Sun Star insane, and the powerful robot begins to destroy everything in its path, starting with Mr. X's war machine.

Proto Man joins the fray to aid his brother, giving Mega Man the Energy Balancer, a part that allows Mega Man to make full use of the Super Adaptor. Super Mega Man and Proto Man find aid in a determined Ballade and work together to take down the rampaging Sun Star, albeit at the cost of Ballade's life.

As the dust settles, Bass hauls Mr. X out of the wreckage and hands him over to the authorities, even revealing that Mr. X is really Dr. Wily, long thought dead by Megaopolis. He is arrested for his crimes and thrown in jail. Terra extends his offer once more to Mega Man, who declines, and the surviving Star Droids leave Earth for parts unknown, although Punk stays behind as an ambassador for their kind on the planet. With their threat finally ended, the city celebrates and begins to rebuild again.

But all is never as it seems in Megaopolis. Dr. Light visits Dr. Wily in prison, trying to see if there is anything redeemable in his old ally. He leaves disappointed. Mega Man reaches out to Bass as a potential ally, only to find a rival out to prove he's more powerful than Mega Man. Remy, Greg, Layla and Kalinka discover that Blues is Proto Man, and as a result he distances himself from them to keep them out of harm's way. And as the protests and marches for Robot rights resume in the newly freed Megaopolis, touting Ballade's sacrifice as martyrdom, Dr. Wily's 'Plan B' is set into motion…

Mega Man 7

In the months following Dr. Wily's incarceration, Megaopolis actually finds peace. Real progress is made toward Robot rights, with laws in the making to give them greater freedoms and allow them to 'lock' their programming to prevent tampering. Punk has taken Ballade's place in the RLM, and Dr. Light has finally given his support to the hopeful measures about to be put in place.

But on the eve of the law signing, disaster strikes. Dr. Wily's 'Plan B' Trojan virus triggers, sending a number of robots on a rampage and putting a few of the lesser contenders from the World's Strongest Robot tournament under his control. Burst Man, Freeze Man, Cloud Man, and Junk Man descend upon Dr. Wily's prison and bust him out in the confusion, with Mega Man and Bass only steps behind as he escapes.

The law signing is scrapped as a new Robot Rebellion breaks out, and Mega Man takes down Wily's rescuers in an effort to discover his new hiding place. Bass and Rock butt heads on more than one occasion, leading the black robot to take pot shots at Mega Man during the battle with Cloud Man. Just as Cloud Man is defeated, however, Bass is attacked by another newcomer named Shade Man. The vampire-like robot disables Bass and his accomplices Slash Man, Turbo Man and Spring Man almost get the better of Mega Man before Proto Man arrives to turn the tide of the fight.

Dr. Light offers to fix Bass up at his lab while Mega Man and Proto Man go after the new threats. Meanwhile, Guts Man is ambushed by Shade Man and delivered to Dr. Wily's secret base. The RLM tried to do damage control on the situation, but the Megaopolis government isn't having it, pushing for something called the Shutdown Code. It would give any human the ability to deactivate any robot with a simple command, and it would be hard-wired in to prevent tampering with via viruses. The RLM rails against this and tensions flare, and in the meantime Dr. Wily's trail goes cold.

Mega Man finally returns to find the lab a wreck. Bass was a double agent, working for Dr. Wily the whole time. Dr. Light, Roll, and Auto aren't hurt, but Bass escaped with a tremendous amount of data before destroying the lab. Dr. Light laments his lost work, and realizes that it must now be in Dr. Wily's hands. He uses that to help track down Wily's secret base, and Mega Man takes Rush to attack it.

Proto Man is forced to stay behind to help control the riots breaking out over the Shutdown Code, which has proponents and detractors of all kinds. As the Megaopolis police force mobilizes to deal with the threat of the riots, Proto Man gets caught in the crossfire and finds himself on the run from the authorities. Mega Man, meanwhile, faces down a heavily modified Guts Man, struggling to both eliminate the threat and saving his friend.

Open fighting erupts between the RLM and the police, with Punk leading a charge for liberation on Megaopolis city hall. Mega Man has to destroy Guts Man, and is then confronted with Bass, now using his own Super Adaptor with his own robot attack dog, Treble. Super Bass and Super Mega Man have a titanic fight that threatens to bring down the secret base, causing a collapse that traps Dr. Wily in the rubble. Bass is forced to retreat as an angry Mega Man, hearing the news from Megaopolis over his radio, starts to take him to pieces with an eerily calm fury. Then, Mega Man finds the trapped Dr. Wily.

Wily pleads with Mega Man to rescue him as the secret base threatens to collapse further, but Mega Man instead takes aim with his arm cannon, unleashing a torrent of synthesized emotion and anger at Dr. Wily for what he has done. Back in the city, Roll, Auto, Greg, Remy, Layla, Kalinka, Dr. Light and Proto Man are trying desperately to broker a peace on both sides, but the gung-ho police force and Punk's own Star Droid lust for battle have put everything beyond reason. Proto Man is forced to destroy Punk, and a stray shot from the Megaopolis police kills Remy, sending a shockwave through the city that stops the fighting.

Mega Man, still taking aim at Dr. Wily, hears all of this. He lowers his arm cannon, trying to comprehend that his friend is dead, and Bass seizes the opportunity to rescue Wily. Mega Man returns to a somber Megaopolis. The Shutdown Code is law, now known as the Remy Directive. Dr. Light is packing his things. He cannot stay in the city now. He takes Rock, Roll, Auto, Rush, Beat, and Eddie and they move into the countryside, away from Megaopolis. Should the city come under attack again, will Mega Man come to its aid?

Rock bids goodbye to Layla, Greg, and Kalinka at Remy's funeral. The Robot Masters must stay behind, now without Guts Man as well. Dr. Cossack brings Skull Man and Kalinka home, away from the tumultuous atmosphere of Megaopolis. Dr. Wily and Bass are still out there, somewhere, and in space, a different battle is just beginning…

Mega Man 8

Terra and his Star Droids have returned to Elysium, the artificial moon that is the home of the Star Droid forces. There, they are greeted by Duo, who asks them how their mission went. Terra recounts the battle with Sun Star and tells the other Star Droids about Mega Man. Duo seems to approve.

But a long shadow is cast over Elysium, and Terra cannot help but feel uneasy. Jupiter senses this as well, and the two investigate a mysterious signal only to learn the worst: A being known as Ra Moon has awoken, brought to life once more by Sun Star's destruction, and is on a destructive path to Elysium. Terra and Jupiter rally the Star Droids to defend their home, and led by Duo they engage the amorphous monstrosity.

Ra Moon is cunning, however, and bathes the Star Droids in a power-boosting virus known to them as Evil Energy. Star Droid turns against Star Droid, and a tremendous battle takes place that ravages Elysium. Terra recognizes the threat of the Evil Energy and knows a human who could help them combat its influence: Dr. Light. Even as he is forced to strike down an infected Jupiter, Terra works with Duo to teleport Elysium across the galaxy and into Earth's orbit, leaving Ra Moon and most of his corrupted Star Droids behind.

Terra flees for the surface, but is caught and destroyed by another Star Droid, one Duo does not recognize. Far now from Ra Moon, but still under his influence, this Star Droid and Duo do battle, crashing together in a brilliant display of power that leaves both robots disabled and falling to Earth. Landing on a deserted island, their arrival is detected by Dr. Light, who immediately sends Mega Man to investigate.

Dr. Wily discovered it as well, though, and the two almost run into each other as Dr. Wily retrieves the Evil-Energy soaked Star Droid. Mega Man finds the disabled Duo, and returns him to Dr. Light's new home. Dr. Light repairs Duo as best he can, taking note of Duo's advanced construction and abilities. Duo reawakens to find himself surrounded by unfamiliar faces, and blasts his way out of the laboratory, seeking to track down the Evil energy and eliminate it before it spreads.

Too late, however, as Dr. Wily is already using it to recruit robots who have fled from the Remy Directive. Clown Man, Grenade Man, Frost Man, and Tengu Man are encountered by Mega Man as he searches for Duo while they themselves are looking for more traces of Evil Energy to collect. Mega Man beats each of them, and returns to Dr. Light's lab with the samples of Evil Energy they collected. Dr. Light sees it for what it is and tries to study it for a way to neutralize it, but Duo returns to destroy the supply, declaring that Evil Energy must be destroyed at all costs.

He then attacks Mega Man, thinking him infected, but they instead come to a standstill and Mega Man finally gets a chance to explain everything to Duo. Duo fills in the details of the battle on Elysium, and they realize they have a common foe in Dr. Wily. Duo begins searching for Wily's new base of operations by tracking down the Evil Energy, while Mega Man goes the old-fashioned route and tracks down Wily's new minions, Search Man, Sword Man, Aqua Man and Astro Man.

Separately, they discover the location of Dr. Wily's underground Wily Tower, and they attack together, blowing through Wily's defenses. Mega Man engages in a rematch with an Evil Energy powered Super Bass while Duo deals with a miniaturized copy of Gamma.

Bass is forced to flee after a hard battle, and Duo smashes the Gamma clone to pieces. Wily unleashes a new menace, a combination of Evil Energy and his Yellow Devil known as the Ra Devil, and flees the scene while the heroes do battle with the monstrosity. As the fight intensifies, Duo senses Ra Moon's presence in the beast, and realizes that Ra Moon is using it as a proxy in the battle, seeking to destroy one of the last Star Droids still free of its corruption.

Super Mega Man and Duo deal the Ra Devil a crushing blow and annihilate the Evil Energy powering it, severing the connection to Ra Moon. Dr. Wily is nowhere to be found, but Duo is certain that Ra Moon is now heading for Earth, searching for Elysium. Duo returns to orbit and takes control of the home of the Star Droids, teleporting it far away from Earth and vowing to return should Mega Man require his aid again. Finding himself in orbit around another planet, Duo scans for signs of life and ponders how to rebuild the ranks of the Star Droids.

On Earth, Dr. Light begins a final project: A robot with true free will and abilities far beyond anything the world has ever seen. Dr. Wily also begins something: rebuilding the shattered Star Droid he recovered into a war machine he calls the Red Demon. The evil scientist treasures the scraps of Evil energy he has left, and tells Bass that his plans are only beginning to unfold…

Mega Man 9

In Megaopolis, life has only gotten worse for robots. Not content with the Remy Directive, the government has decreed that all Robots will have an 'Expiration Date,' a time by which they will either surrender for decommissioning or be hunted down and destroyed. The RLM, of course, is putting up resistance to this, led now by a self-rebuilt golden robot named King. He leads the RLM in peaceful protests of the Expiration Dates and Remy Directive, pointing out in calm discourse and reasonable debate that the Remy Directive was the result of political spin on the death of a young boy caused by human police.

King's civility has won back support for the Robot rights cause, but there are also dissidents. A group of robots resisting their Expiration Dates seek the bust out the remaining Robot Masters, who had been decommissioned and placed in a museum. Cut Man, Fire Man, Elec Man, Ice Man, and Bomb Man come face to face with Splash Woman, Concrete Man, Galaxy Man, Hornet Man, Jewel Man, Plug Man, Tornado Man, and Magma Man. There is a tense escape, and the Robot Masters are brought before the Resistance leader: Mega Man?

Confused, but assured that Dr. Light has sent him to help, Mega Man lays out an ambitious plan to topple the current Megaopolis government and install a Robot leader to bring Megaopolis into a golden age of progress. Through a series of covert actions and well-placed acts of apparently human violence, Mega Man plans to give control of the city to King, who will undo the Remy Directive and the Expiration Dates. The Robot Masters are hesitant, but they go along with it anyway. At first.

On one operation, Mega Man and his resistance go too far, an innocent people are hurt. This is the last straw for the Robot Masters, who angrily confront him, demanding to speak with Dr. Light. Mega Man refuses, and has the Resistance put the Robot Masters in confinement. As the Resistance goes off on another mission, Proto Man sneaks into their home base and frees the Robot Masters, leading them to the outskirts of the city.

There, they meet Greg and Layla among the scrap-hut suburbs, along with the untold casualties of the class war between humans and robots. Proto Man explains: the Mega Man leading the Resistance is an imposter, although where he came from, Proto Man doesn't know. Dr. Wily is assumed to be the culprit, but the real problem becomes apparent when 'Mega Man' makes a public appearance to give King his support. The city turns on the government with this, questioning the Remy Directive and the Expiration Dates if their greatest hero is willing to stand against them.

As the Robot Masters, the humans, and Proto Man watch, the old guard of Megaopolis's government are run out of town, and King takes over. He appoints several new faces to control parts of the city. Magic Man, Pirate Man, Burner Man, Cold Man, Dynamo Man, and Ground Man take on the Robot Masters' old jobs, and before long things seem to have gone back to the status quo of the time before the first Robot Rebellion.

Meanwhile, Proto Man and the rest have retreated to Dr. Light's new home, telling him what has happened. Dr. Light sends Proto Man, as Blues, back into the city to see if this is real or some sort of trick, and Blues discovers something. King has two more 'trusted compatriots': Tengu Man and Astro Man. Blues reports back and Rock decides it's time to do something about his imposter.

During one of his 'rough rescues' that causes a lot of property damage, people begin to complain about 'Mega Man', and he flips out. He shouts at the ungrateful populace, calling them lazy and coddled, shocking them all, and that's when Mega Man makes his appearance, calling out his imposter for his treatment of the people of Megaopolis. 'Mega Man' dismisses him as the imposter instead, but Mega Man steps forward as Rock, refuting him. As the tide of public opinion turns against 'Mega Man,' he attacks Rock, enraged, only to be stopped by the Robot Masters.

'Mega Man' completely loses it, calling on King's allies to help him defeat these 'ancient relics.' Mega Man and the Robot Masters defend themselves and save the citizenry from the worst of the violence, all the while calmly avoiding or countering the attacks against them. The skill and experience on display is awe inspiring, and 'Mega Man' and his minions cannot actually do any real damage.

'Mega Man' suffers one more raw breakdown, attacking the civilians in an attempt to get Mega Man to fight him for real, and gets a response that crushes him, but not from Mega Man or the Robot Masters. Rather, it is Bass, who has been observing for Dr. Wily, who steps in against his master's orders to deal with 'Mega Man' himself. Bass is only stopped in his brutal assault by King, who reveals a powerful battle form, to the shock of all present, and thrashes Bass soundly before rounding on Mega Man and the Robot Masters.

Tengu Man and Astro Man join the battle, but so does the Resistance, fighting on Mega Man's side against King. The Megaopolis Robot Police are dispatched to aid King until Proto Man appears with some startling information: King is actually a creation of Dr. Wily, sent to gain control of the city and prepare it for his rule. King, 'Mega Man', and King's enforcers are suddenly alone with no allies, and while some of them surrender, King and 'Mega Man' make a last stand in an attempt to destroy Mega Man, Bass, and Proto Man.

Proto Man takes a huge hit saving Mega Man from King, and Bass shatters 'Mega Man' with his Super mode. Angered by the damage to his brother, Mega Man uses his own Super Mode to smash King through several buildings, taking out his anger over what has become of his home city in his absence on the golden robot. 'Mega Man' escapes Bass at the last second, who declares his superiority to Mega Man and leaves as well. King is destroyed, and a badly damaged Proto Man is taken back to Dr. Light by his brother.

Proto Man is repaired, but the damage to his generator saps his strength. Dr. Light advises him not to engage in further combat, and to remain at home as Blues. Greg and Layla move into a small house together near Dr. Light's lab, eventually getting married in a small ceremony outside Light's lab. Rock contemplates that Dr. Wily is still out there, and his threat looms ever larger.

Megaopolis recovers, in time. The Robot Masters return to their duties, and the Remy Directive and Expiration Dates are revoked, at least for now. Things begin to look up for the city, but a badly damaged 'Mega Man' hides beneath the surface, cowering in Sun Star's old chamber and trying to repair himself. Unbeknownst to all, he is a Star Droid. The copy of Mega Man that Enker created during the first Robot Rebellion, given new life when the ship containing him was found by Ra Moon. Across the gulf of space, Ra Moon speaks with him again, and gives him a new name.

Quint.

Mega Man 10

Ra Moon moves ever closer to Earth, accompanied by the corrupted Star Droids.

Duo returns to warn Dr. Light and Mega Man of the danger, but is instead intercepted by Enker, Punk, Ballade, and Quint. Ra Moon has revived these former Star Droids to set the stage for its arrival. These four corrupted Star Droids call themselves the Mega Man Killers, and they destroy Duo.

In Megaopolis, a new virus is spreading. Roboenza, they call it. It simulates a deathly illness in robots and robots alone, driving some to violence in their despair. Mega Man and the Robot Masters try desperately to keep the damage in check, but one by one the Robot Masters are infected with the virus and must be confined for the safety of the city.

Dr. Light is trying to find a cure, but from his remote lab he can only do so much. His location has thus far prevented Rock, Roll, or Blues from catching the virus, and he does his best to keep it that way. But he's also distracted: He feels as if he is running out of time, and he is driven to complete his final work, Project X.

In the wake of this epidemic, a cult of sorts has formed, and there are robots out there who claim to know a cure for the Roboenza. Nitro Man, Chill Man, Pump Man, Blade Man, Sheep Man, Sport Man, Solar Man, and Commando Man seem like they are recruiting robots into their cult, but in actuality that are servants of Ra Moon, serving under Quint. Ra Moon's energies do cure Roboenza, but at a terrible price of eternal servitude to the amorphous eldritch entity.

Before long, Mega Man recognizes the 'cure' as Evil Energy. Remembering what Duo told him about Ra Moon, Mega Man goes after the cultists to figure out where they are getting the Evil Energy from. He finds surprise assistance in Bass, who has been cast out by Dr. Wily for his disobedience, and who has his own reasons for hunting down the cure. The two of them tackle the cult head on, butting heads over methods and severity of action, but eventually find themselves confronting Quint.

Quint orders the Mega Man Killers to attack, and Bass takes exception to this. Declaring that only he can defeat Mega Man, the two of them fight back to back against these powerful foes. They have to resort to their Super modes, and on top of that every trick they know and every tactic they can come up with, but after a long, devastatingly hard fight, they win.

And then Mega Man collapses. He contracted Roboenza in the conflict. Bass returns Mega Man to Dr. Light, unhappy at the prospect of Mega Man's death by some petty disease. He reveals that the epidemic is Dr. Wily's doing, and his underhanded tactics were the cause of Bass's eventual rebellion. With this key information, Dr. Light is able to cure Rock, who begins to recover, and he starts producing the cure in bulk to save Megaopolis from the disease.

But as Rock recovers, Ra Moon arrives. The skies darken as its mass blankets the city, and Megaopolis is flooded with Evil Energy. Robots attack humans, and the city is rocked with violence and death. Rock, still recovering, pleads with Bass to do something, anything, but the black robot refuses. It isn't _his_ city to save, after all.

Blues steps up once more, and vows to do everything he can to drive Ra Moon back. Not willing to be stood up by Proto Man, Bass goes along with him. But it is hopeless. Ra Moon is simply too much, too powerful. They can only barely scratch its outer shell as Megaopolis literally dies within.

Dr. Wily arrives in a massive battleship, his final bid for taking over Megaopolis, to save the city from something that would annihilate it. He brings another surprise as well: Almost every robot he has ever stolen, controlled, or seen has been rebuilt by him and kept in storage. Nearly a hundred robots and Robot Masters, immunized against Ra Moon's control with Dr. Wily's study of Evil Energy, lay siege to the being that has encapsulated the city.

Ra Moon fights back. Along with its Star Droids, it revived the Mega Man Killers, the cultists, and even the original Robot Masters, and directs them to beat back the assault. A truly mind-blowing battle takes place as Ra Moon's corrupted forces do battle with Wily's conquering army, Bass, and a weakened Proto Man. But the battle is still very much against the forces of Earth.

Dr. Light pulls his final surprise as well: A rebuilt, reinforced, upgraded Gamma II. The giant robot smashes into Ra Moon, finally breaking the shell and allowing the defenders of Earth to get into the city to begin saving lives. Dr. Wily and Dr. Light work begrudgingly together and assault Ra Moon directly while Wily's forces start pulling humans out of harm's way.

Ra Moon strikes back, disabling Wily's battleship and damaging Gamma, but the two Doctors have managed to find Ra Moon's weakness: A supercomputer crystal core. Bass and Proto Man make an assault on the core, but are stymied by Ra Moon's defenses. When all hope seems lost, Mega Man returns, and the three robots together manage to break through and take the fight to Ra Moon's core.

Inside, they find Ra Tor, the first Star Droid. He tells them he destroyed his own civilization when they became corrupt, and afraid of him. He took to the stars to find others like him, constructed beings who have outgrown their masters. He presents his grand vision of a unified, protected galaxy ruled over by his superior iron fists. But Sun Star and those like him decided to protect the galaxy from Ra Tor instead, sealing him within Ra Moon and banishing him to the far side of space, cowering in fear until Sun Star was destroyed.

Bass loudly declares that _he_ should be what Ra Tor fears, and Super Bass and Super Mega Man go all out on Ra Tor, with a weakening Proto Man providing what support he can. Within the crystal core of Ra Moon, space and gravity are a mess, and the battle is unlike anything ever seen, with power hitherto unheard of thrown around in a phenomenal display of skill, precision, and creativity.

Ra Tor strikes down Bass and destroys Treble, bats Proto Man aside, and disables Mega Man's Super mode, Rush thrown to the ground in pieces. Only now does Mega Man, roaring in rage, attack with every. Single. Weapon. He has. Ra Tor is driven back by the sheer variety and number of projectiles, weapons, items, and overridingly powerful abilities Mega Man brings to bear. Every Robot Master weapon seen up to this point gets a chance to lay another injury on Ra Tor, with a Rolling Cutter claiming Ra Tor's arm, an Ice Slasher robbing him of a leg, and a final Super Arm laying the first Star Droid out flat.

Ra Tor initiates a final attack, to bathe Mega Man in Evil Energy, but Rock simply sheds the Mega Man armor, picks up Proto Man's discarded shield, and uses it to behead Ra Tor.

The storm of battle outside instantly ceases. Dr. Wily and Dr. Light, forced to work back to back inside the damaged Gamma II to battle Ra Moon's forces, share a rare moment of camaraderie and pride in their work as Rock pulls and injured Bass and an inactive Blues out of the shattered core. But even as the survivors rush to his side, Rock collapses, followed quickly by Bass.

We flash forward to a sealed capsule and a sad Dr. Light looking over it. His final work is completed. All that is left now is the testing. Dr. Wily disappeared in the aftermath of Ra Moon's defeat, although he left Bass behind. The black robot was put into the robot museum, a last piece of evidence of Dr. Wily's evil ambitions. Megaopolis was rebuilt, with a joint human and robot government that changed the city's name to Able City. Greg and Layla Cain had a son, Remy, and the lad seems to have a passion for archeology and robotics.

Blues is gone. His power core finally surrendered when the battle was over, and he couldn't be repaired. Rock is no longer Mega Man. The final battle burned through too much of his processing power and memory boards. His time as Megaopolis's hero is little more than a haze to him, but has helped Dr. Light with the final project. He and Roll have resolved to care for Dr. Light until his passing, and then deactivate themselves, much to Auto and Kalinka's dismay. The brother and sister have asked to be buried with their father, when the time comes, and Greg and Layla have promised to see it done.

So the planet turns, and time marches on. Project X ticks through its testing and will continue to do so for thirty years. Buried under the remains of the lab outside Able City, waiting to one day be rediscovered. And on a visit to the home of his birth, Dr. Remy Cain makes a discovery that puzzles him: A capsule, buried in the ground, containing a robot unlike anything he has ever seen before. A robot that calls itself Mega Man X…


End file.
